MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers announced their 2021 award winners as selected by a panel from the Milwaukee Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Full release can be found here.
Shortstop Willy Adames earned Brewers Most Valuable Player and Top Newcomer honors. Adames, acquired from Tampa Bay on May 21, batted .285 with 20 HR and 58 RBI in 99 games with Milwaukee. The team went 74-44 after his arrival. Between the Rays and Brewers, Adames set career highs this season in runs (77), HR (25), RBI (73), doubles (32), walks (57), total bases (239) and extra-base hits (58).
Adames received six of the eight first-place votes for both Brewers Most Valuable Player and Top Newcomer with pitcher Corbin Burnes and second baseman Kolten Wong receiving the other two first-place votes for each award, respectively.
Burnes, a strong candidate for the National League Cy Young Award, was unanimously voted Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher after he went 11-5 with a Major League-best 2.43 ERA in 28 starts. Burnes also led the majors in K/9IP (12.61), K/BB (6.88) and HR/9IP (0.38) and ranked among the National League leaders in WHIP (2nd, 0.94), BB/9IP (2nd, 1.83), strikeouts (3rd, 234), opponent batting average (4th, .201) and H/9IP (5th, 6.63).
Infielder Luis Urías was voted Brewers Unsung Hero after batting .249 with 23 HR and 75 RBI in 150 games. He made 133 starts (59g at SS, 58g at 3B, 16g at 2B). Urías led the team in games, at-bats (490), runs (77), hits (122) and extra-base hits (49) and ranked second in HR, RBI, total bases (218) and walks (63). He became the seventh player (10x) in franchise history to have a 20+ HR season before the age of 25.
Urías received three of the eight first-place votes for Brewers Unsung Hero with four others also receiving first-place votes.
Pitcher Brandon Woodruff received the Good Guy Award, which is presented to the player who has the most outgoing, friendly presence in the clubhouse and interacts well with the media on a daily basis in a cooperative and pleasant manner. Woodruff was one of six players to receive first-place votes (2) and one of 10 to appear on ballots.